1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an articulated lawn mower and, more particularly, to a lawn mower with plural decks hinged together for the cutting of grass on an uneven terrain.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the field of lawn mowers, a rigid housing forms an inverted pan that surrounds a rotary blade. The blade is usually connected to a shaft, coupled to a power source. The power source is typically mounted to the rigid housing. Furthermore, the rigid housing serves as a chassis for mounting wheels thereto. The wheels of a conventional lawn mower roll over the terrain on which the grass is to be cut.
Because the housing is rigid, it is precluded from closely following the varying contours of the terrain to be mowed. The rigid housing must either span over valleys or contact raised ridges in the terrain to be mowed. Therefore, the rotary blade within the rigid housing is precluded from maintaining a uniform distance between the blade and the terrain to be mowed. This results in an uneven mowing.
The present invention overcomes the problems inherent in planar, rigid deck lawn mowers. The mower of the present invention utilizes two planar, rigid decks in a side by side configuration. The mower has a shaft that serves to pivotally couple the decks together about an axis in the direction of the mower movement.
Each deck has a rotary cutting blade secured beneath it and connected to a shaft extending upwardly to a motor. This arrangement allows the decks to more closely follow the contours of the terrain to be mowed. For example, when cutting grass within a ditch, the shaft and axis are lowered and the mower's decks are free to pivot with respect to each other about the pivotal shaft. The articulation allows the decks to conform to the terrain and thereby maintain a uniform distance between the rotary blades and the grass to be cut. When the decks are passed over hills, the shaft and axis are raised and the mower's decks can pivot to prevent the chassis from contacting the peak of the hill and thereby maintain a uniform distance between the rotary blades and the terrain. The mower of the present invention is able to follow the terrain's contours with a higher degree of precision than that of lawn mowers having rigid decks and thereby yields more uniform grass cutting resulting from the articulating decks.
The present invention is directed to improving known devices for cutting grass on uneven terrain by articulating the decks of a lawn mower in a manner which is safe, secure, convenient and economical.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved lawn mower deck assembly having a pair of similarly shaped decks. Each of the decks has rotary cutting disk and blades for cutting grass therebeneath. A pivotal shaft is used to couple the decks together at their adjacent edges. The mower has wheels located adjacent to the first end of each deck and a mounting bracket located at the second end of each deck. H-links having upper and lower ends pivotally coupled to a mounting bracket and the deck are utilized for allowing the decks to raise and lower adjacent to the pivot axis for cutting grass on an uneven terrain.
Another object of this invention is to articulate the decks of a lawn mower in a manner which is safe, secure and convenient to the manufacturer.
A further object of this invention is to manufacture articulating lawn mower decks economically.
A further object of this invention is to allow the rotary blades of a lawn mower to follow the contour of the terrain on which grass is to be cut.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to cut grass more evenly.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed as merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.